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June, 27, 2024

• Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Law
• Understand your employee illness, exclusions, and reporting responsibilities
• Resources

Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Law

Effective January 1, 2024, Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law requires employers to provide paid leave to employees who work in the state, which includes food service businesses.

This law does not prevent a licensed food business from asking specific information from employees as required in the Minnesota Food Code. Food employees and conditional employees are still required to report to the person in charge their symptoms and diagnoses that related to diseases that can be passed on through food.  The ESST law allows for disclosure of information given by an employee when required by another law, such as the Minnesota Food Code.

Understand your employee illness, exclusions, and reporting responsibilities

Employee Illness

• Employees must report to the person in charge if they have any of the following symptoms:
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Jaundice (yellowing of skin or whites of eyes)
  • Sore throat with fever
  • Open, infected wound
• Employees must also report to the person in charge if they have been diagnosed with any of the following infections:
  • Norovirus
  • Salmonella
  • Shigella
  • Hepatitis A virus
  • Shiga toxin-producing coli
  • Infection with another enteric bacteria, viral or parasitic pathogen

Exclusions

• All ill employees must be excluded from a food establishment while they have:
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
• Employees with diarrhea or vomiting cannot return to work for at least 24 hours after symptoms end.
• Employees diagnosed with Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Hepatitis A virus, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or an enteric pathogen must be excluded from working with exposed food, clean equipment, and clean utensils. MDH will provide instructions if additional exclusions apply.

Recording

• The person in charge must record all employee reports of diarrhea and vomiting, including onset date, in an Employee Illness Log . Even if the employee called in and did not report to work, it must still be recorded in the log.
  • Kev Ntsuas Tus Neeg Ua Haujlwm Li Kev Mob (Hmong)
  • Diiwaanka Xanuunka Shaqaalaha (Somali)
  • Registro de Enfermedades de los Empleados (Spanish)

Reporting

• The person in charge must notify the local health inspector or the MDH Foodborne Illness Hotline if an employee has been diagnosed with Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga-toxin producing coli, or another enteric pathogen.
  • Kev Ceeb Toom Qhia Txog Mob Nkeeg Los Ntawm Zaub Mov thiab Cov Dej - MN Dept. of Health (Hmong)
  • Soo sheegida xanuunnada Laga Shakiyo ee Cuntada iyo Biyaha Ka dhasha - MN Dept. of Health (Somali)
  • Reportar la sospecha de una enfermedad transmitida por los alimentos o el agua - MN Dept. of Health (Spanish)
• If a customer contacts you to complain of illness, this must also be reported to your local health inspector or to the MDH Foodborne Illness Hotline.

Resources

Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (mn.gov)

Illness Reporting for Food Establishments-MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Foodworker Illness Awareness - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Foodborne Illness Print Materials - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Food Business Safety - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

PWDU Staff Contact Information

Angie Wheeler ǀ FPLS manager

angie.wheeler@state.mn.us ǀ 651-201-5634

Rick Toms ǀ PWDU supervisor

rick.toms@state.mn.us ǀ 218-332-5154

Denise Schumacher ǀ supervisor- plan review, delegation, and evaluation

denise.schumacher@state.mn.us ǀ 507-476-4234

Loreena Hilton ǀ standardization, program evaluation

loreena.hilton@state.mn.us ǀ 651-201-4810

Jim Topie ǀ training, standardization

james.topie@state.mn.us ǀ 218-302-6154

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